Although no final decisions have been made, there appears to be some movement toward resolving a $777,000 stalemate between Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith and the Barrow County Board of Commissioners following an impassioned public hearing Wednesday night. A majority of BOC members appeared to want to find a way to balance the county’s budget without slashing Sheriff Jud Smith’s operations and jail budget by a proposed $777,000 in the coming fiscal year, which begins October 1.

The BOC is slated to adopt its FY2014 budget and its 2013 millage rate Sept. 18.
The primary concern at this week’s hearing revolved around the proposal to cut the Sheriff’s Office budget. Sheriff Smith gave a passionate 10-minute talk in defense of his department saying, “My staff will not be cut and my staff will not lose one penny of their salaries.”
He called the proposed budget, which was crafted by county staff and BOC members meeting in small groups so as to avoid holding open public meetings, “irresponsible and disgusting.”
Three other people also addressed the board about the budget, with two of those clearly backing Smith.
BOC MEMBERS COMMENT
Many of the BOC members’ comments that followed the hearing sounded conciliatory and tended to coalesce around an earlier idea from commissioner Billy Parks to take around one-half of a mill in taxes that was adopted by the board last year for capital expenses and shift that toward making up the $777,000 shortfall in the sheriff’s budget.
Parks said that there was still around $1 million left unused from the tax last year and wondered if the county should adopt that rate again this year just for capital expenses with other needs in the general fund budget left wanting.
“There’s still some room to negotiate,” he said.
Several other BOC members echoed a theme that the budget plan is “only a proposal” and that they were open to further discussions.The only district commissioners to push back directly against Smith were Kenny Shook and Joe Goodman. Shook said he disagreed with Smith that the budget proposal was “irresponsible and disgusting.”
“We’re still working through it,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
Shook was also obviously upset in how Smith had amended his office’s budget to reflect the proposed cutbacks.
In an overview presentation before the hearing, finance director Rose Kisaalita presented Smith’s plan to cut the sheriff’s office spending for vehicle gas from $340,000 to just $1,000 and the jail’s inmate medical spending from $600,000 to $358,000.
Both of those proposals are impossible to do and were obviously designed by Smith to send a message to the BOC that he would cut such items before he would cut employees.
Shook threw those proposals back at Smith and was echoed by Goodman, who called it “silly.”
GRAHAM RESPONDS
But perhaps the biggest change in tone at the meeting came from BOC chairman Pat Graham, who is widely seen as having been the driving force on the board to force cuts to the Sheriff’s Office.
Saying she wasn’t aware of Parks’ idea to shift part of the capital rate millage for the Sheriff’s Office, she nevertheless called it “an option” and said she would be “open to shifting it this year.” She called the idea a “compromise” and said she wanted to have more conversations with the sheriff about his budget.
But Graham also called on Smith to become “more efficient” in his office’s spending. She said the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office isn’t as efficient as surrounding counties, with Barrow spending $175 on a per capita basis with the surrounding counties spends $162-$165 per capita.
Graham also said she was concerned with the county’s capital needs and that if those needs continue to be neglected, it would force a tax hike in a few years.
THE BALL IN BOC’S COURT?
The real issue now is, what will happen next?
The ball appears to be in the BOC’s court since that board is under deadline pressure to adopt a budget by the end of the month. Smith faces no such pressure and appears to have a lot of community support behind leaving his budget mostly intact. Technically, he doesn’t have to do anything at this point.
But several BOC members indicated Wednesday night that they expected Smith to come back to them with a new proposal, a situation that could extend the stalemate if the board doesn’t take the lead in the issue in the coming days.
Graham indicated that there might be further discussion about the budget at next Wednesday’s two hearings, one at noon and the other at 6 p.m. Although those hearings are nominally to address a proposal to cut the amount of a tax rollback given to Winder residents for fire services, the budget is fair game for board debate at that time.
In the meantime, there will likely be further behind-the-scenes discussions among BOC members and the sheriff. The current budget proposal was crafted mostly in secret by having staff meet with small groups of BOC members so as to avoid having to hold a public meeting. That secrecy appears to have come form Graham in a bid to control the budget process and to come to the public with a BOC consensus behind the proposal and avoid much pubic debate.
Wednesday night’s public hearing, however, made it clear that there was little hard consensus on the BOC for deeply cutting Sheriff Smith’s budget. Nobody from the public spoke in favor of the plan to cut the Sheriff’s Office and Jail budgets by $777,000.

I was there too. Pat Graham said that the jail has 391 beds but only averages 226 inmates/daily. That Sheriff Smith should find ways to run it more effeciently since its not full. Does she not realize that if every bed was full, inmate meals and medical would go up from where they are now? Does she also not realize that it is not the Sheriff's OFFICE job to keep the detention center filled to capacity? Before any one of them cut a single item they should go and spend a day at those places. Not a 30 minute tour, get up off your high horse and get in the trenches for a day. Then decide what you think could be cut.

Oh and by the way just a little FYI....Barrow County doesn't have a Sheriff's Department it has a Sheriff's Office. It was pretty obvious that Sheriff Smith doesn't bow to the commisioners like a Department Head would.

I took was there and what stuck with me was the 1.4M of our tax dollars sitting in an account that isn't being used. Last year there was this increase in the tax for "capital expenditures" but there none. They don't have any one the plate right now. They could use this money to balance the budget and not cut the sheriff's budget. But Graham and (I'm sorry I supported her) thinks they should hang onto it, just in case, of an emergency.

Well here is a news flash BOC!

THAT MONEY IS MY MONEY. MY TAX DOLLARS AS WELL AS THE OTHER CITIZENS OF BARROW WHEN INTO THAT POT. USE MY TAX DOLLARS TO BALANCE THE BUDGET AND NOT CUT THE SHERIFF'S BUDGET

Like the one lady said, you are like cows -- gobbling up tax dollars on one end and giving BS out the other

I stand in support of Jud Smith, and urge Ms. Graham
and The BOC to work towards an acceptable compromise
of this issue. Political posturing at this point solves
nothing, especially for newcomer commissioners who are
being watched closely by voters.
Public Safety must be a top priority for the BOC.
Respectfully submitted,
DuWayne Anderson
Winder, GA

While I agree public safety IS important but It's still funny that all I've ever heard was that the Local Governments are not doing there jobs and wasting money and we need to get new blood from the "outside" in office and get the Good Ole Boys out BLAH BLAH BLAH. Now that we have a new "outside person" just like everyone wanted and they're being tight with money everyone is still complaining. I knew it was going to be that way from the beginning. OH WELL!

As a Deputy under Sheriff Smith and one who was at the meeting Wed night, quoting the sheriff this is absolutely " irresponsible and disgusting" . After finding out that there is over 1 million dollars sitting doing nothing " for emergencies" yet BOC is questioning of they should use it or not I balance the budget. UNBELEIVABLE!!! BOC rather put the citizens and deputies at risk when deputies seek employment elsewhere rather then use "emergency " money. Thanks BOC, glad to know you don't thing safety is an emergency of the citizens who put you in the positions your in. Or the safety of the deputies that risk our lives everyday but are not about to leave, also not an " emergency" . Wow, please , tell us what an " emergency" that's more important then safety and security of citizens / deputies!!! Thanks again. Hope y'all reconsider !!

Well if they don't reconsider. 3 are up for re-election next year. The other 3 the following year and we all know this is just a stepping stone for Graham. She wants a senate seat so in four years she will be tossing her hat into that ring.

I was there too, and I think the Sherriff was doing nothing but grandstanding. I agree with Kenny Shook - the board is being responsible. And if you listened, those of you that were there, you would know that a lot of that 1.4 million will be spent on capital projects elsewhere in the county. The Sherriff, who I personally like, needs to get off his high horse, make some tough decisions, and meet the board half way. There is no way there aren't opportunities for efficiency, but the Sherriff has no interest in achieving any.

Apparently you were NOT at the same meeting I was at. The 1.4 Million is, and has been, sitting doing nothing and has been since last year. Again, what's more important right now then the safety and security of our citizens and deputies. Are there other things that need to be completed and fixed/replaced around the county, absolutely, however not ONE commissioner brought anything forward. Pat stated "IF" there was an emergency. She even stated that the mill increase was not for one specific project at the time. So it pretty hard to justify not balancing one of the most important agencies in the county whwen the money is there, they just don't want to spend it until an emergency comes up. Take a look around.....here is your emergency BOC!!!! About to lose A LOT of good, hard working, dedicated employees because you don't want to use money,,,,,,thats ummm,, NOT BEING USED!!!

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